PORTLAND — Hoping to expand Internet access, Google Fiber and Portland’s Nonprofit Technology Network said they will create a program to help overcome the digital divide. Google Fiber committed $1 million train community advocates to bring more people online.
The fellowships are available in markets Google Fiber serves or has committed to offer service. That excludes Portland, which has been on Google Fiber’s list of potential expansion cities for more than a year. The company says it hasn’t set a timetable for making a decision on bringing its hyperfast gigabit service to the region.
A fall study found more than 80 percent of Oregon residents have home Internet access. Internet use among some groups — those without high school educations, Hispanics and Oregonians older than 65 — is considerably lower.